0:00
I wonder what a half U-turn is, actually
0:02
Is that a C-turn? Is that a... What's half... An L-turn? Bit of like an L
0:07
Yeah, an L-turn. A curvy L. Or a J. Yeah, a J-turn. Let's call it that
0:12
Well, shall we speak to a farmer about this? Olly Harrison can join us now
0:16
Olly, thanks indeed for being with us this Boxing Day. Farmers really do have to work the whole year round, I suppose
0:23
Yeah, no, that's it. It's all to do with the weather. And if you've got livestock, they obviously need to be fed 365 days a year, twice a day
0:30
But, yeah, it's definitely a better Christmas than we thought we were going to have
0:34
I would reckon around 50% of farms now have been taken out the eye of the storm
0:38
of the inheritance tax fiasco. Sadly, though, I would think that there's still around 50% left in
0:47
And if you think that the top 25% of farms produce 75% of the food
0:52
there is still a big risk to food security at the moment, although many upland farms and some of the smaller ones
0:57
will now actually have just about break even under that threshold, which is fantastic news
1:02
But I think there is still more to be done. I know I sound like I'm always moaning
1:06
but it would be nice to make sure that all farmers have got a future that's investable
1:12
And, Ollie, it's taken the government well over a year of you guys bringing your tractors to Westminster
1:19
constant protests and telling them. Why do you think it took so long
1:25
Some critics say that Labour basically just don't understand rural communities. Do you think that is a fair charge 100 I mean I not sure if any governments of recent years have understood our culture to be perfectly honest It would have been nice if
1:43
they had some sort of consultation before all this, and then it would have saved a lot
1:47
of embarrassment for them, and a lot of lost votes, shall we say, because I
1:51
don't know how they can rebuild the rural vote that they've lost
1:55
at the moment. I mean, they've probably lost it for three generations, unless they actually
1:59
pull the socks up now and get working with farmers and come up with some solutions
2:03
to make farming profitable and also investable, because at the moment, farm the size of mine
2:08
there's no real thought of investing into it. You might as well put it into other businesses
2:12
because it's just too risky at the moment, especially with no sort of end game, if you will
2:18
Well, Oli, tell us a bit about your farm. We can see you there standing outside on a chilly Liverpudlian day
2:26
What have you got in the field behind you? To be honest, I'm at the in-laws, which is just in the hills
2:31
just the other side of Manchester. So, yeah, I'm predominantly arable, so it's been quite wet
2:37
although it has forecast dry weather for the next four or five days. So we might get drilling wheat again on sort of the lower land near Liverpool
2:44
But no, actually, it's a day off for me, apart from feeding the animals behind me
2:49
There's a few sheep and a horse, but yeah, not a massively busy day
2:53
I've got two youngsters under four at the moment, so we've brought them outside for some fresh air to wear them out, I think
2:59
Rearing not just sheep and pigs, but children as well. Which is hardest
3:06
Yeah, the children. Especially with so much chocolate and things floating around
3:13
Maybe they should have been eating more eight-pence potatoes. They might not have had the same energy in them
